Spark
by Tink's Emalia
Summary: A Large, Powerful, Mysterious black dog appears to Katniss when she needs a Friend the most. The dog is kind, gentle and has piercing green eyes that seem to see right through her. The dog jumps on the prep team, jumps on Portia who is alive in the story! And is always there to comfort Katniss.
1. The Dog

The Black dog stood on the steps of the building, the golden fur above his eyes catching in the sunlight.

Instinct had led him here. He had made a promise and no matter what, he was going to keep it.

The doors opened and a young woman with her long brown hair in a single braid down her back, stepped out of the building, followed by a tall, brown haired boy. Three men in white suits followed closely behind , carrying heavy guns. They climbed into a large black jet. The dog followed.

As the jet took off down the runway and into the sky toward district 8 , no one noticed the big black dog guarding the girl in the mockingjay suit.


	2. Empathy

"Katniss, Katniss Everdeen" , an old frail woman whispered as she clung to the hand of the Mocking jay. Many people had done the same and the Dog had witnessed Katniss sharing some of their tears.

The dog followed Katniss and the camera crew out of the hospital.

They exited not a moment too soon.


	3. Promise Made, Promise Kept

Bullets shot past his head as the large black dog charged on powerful paws back towards the hospital.

He HAD to get to Katniss.

He heard her voice ring out in pure terror just mere feet from him, "Help me, somebody HELP ME! " He growled. _"I'm coming, my girl, I'm coming."_ He wheeled around and saw Katniss standing, rigid as a statue, a gun aimed at her head. With a snarl, the dog lunged himself at the man. His paws fell on the man's shoulders knocking him down. His fangs met the man's gun hand, crunching bone and sending the gun flying into the air. There was a short scream, and then silence. The man moved no more.

The Dog stood, up, shook himself, and then turned to Katniss and, brushing her hand with his muzzle, he whined. She looked down. For an instant, their eyes met his wise majestic green ones, and her kind, youthful brown. The look in her eyes changed from confusion, to disbelief to fear.

Suddenly, she kicked him hard in the ribs with her heavy-duty combat boots. Her fists pounded his head, all the while screaming, "It's a Mutt! A capitol Mutt! Gale Help me!"

He gave not even a growl, nor a whine. If he had wanted to, he could have fought back and killed her instantly. However, he could not bring himself to harm this girl who, in life had become like a daughter to him. He could not bring himself to break the promise he had made to her father, to Rue. He had promised them that he would guard her with his life. Just because she thought the Capitol had turned him into some kind of Mutt was no reason to hurt her, what she was doing was not her fault. It was the Capitol's.

"Leave him alone, Catnip." Gale's voice was gentle yet it had a ring of authority to it. Katniss stopped hitting the dog and fell, sobbing, into Gale's arms. "It's alright, you're safe now. It's over."

As they climbed back into the jet, no one noticed the black dog limping along at Katniss's side.


	4. Comfort of a Friend

The light of the moon shone on the carpeted floor of the bedroom. The night was still and silent and the dog lay snoozing on a pile of satin ball gowns on the floor of the closet.

Without warning, screams pierced the night. "No Rue No !" Katniss screamed as she thrashed around.

"Run! Peeta!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"No! Let me outta here! I gotta help him! He needs me! Let me out of here!"

" No ! Fight back , fight back!"

The dog dragged his sore, bruised body off the soft pile of dresses, limped over and put both paws on the bed. _"Wake up Katniss, you're having a bad dream."_

Slowly, her eyes opened. She sat up and looked around. Her eyes fell on the dog .

"You again. Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. It 's just that when we were in the arena, The Capitol made these Mutts that looked like the dead tributes. I remembered that. I'm sorry."

She motioned for him to come up and lay beside her, and she did so, resting his head on her shoulder. She ran her hands over the dog's head, her eyes thoughtful.

" What shall I call you anyway?" She yawned . " I'll figure it out tomorrow. I'm going back to sleep. Keep the bad dreams away OK boy,? Thanks , for earlier. You saved my life. " She lifted a hand to chew her nails.

The dog growled, and batted her hand away with his paw. " OK , Ok , I won't bite them. You're just as bad as Cinna." At the mention of her stylist, she fell silent, and her eyes grew misty. When she spoke again, it was clear that she was trying to hold back tears. " I miss him, boy, I saw him die and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even call out, to warn him. I wish, " Her throat caught and she gave a small sob., " I wish that it had been like it was with Rue, I wish I had been able to comfort him in his last moments, to be there for him like he always was for me. " She was sobbing hard now. The dog whined and licked the tears from her cheeks. " I mean, I bet he was scared, getting beaten up like that. He needed me, but I wasn't there ." She stroked the dog's ears. " He was like a father to me . Now that he's gone, it's like Father died all over again."

The Dog sighed and curled up closer to her . _" Go to sleep my girl. Go to sleep. I am here. I will not leave." _

The dog sent a silent prayer to Katniss, and , as if she had heard him, she fell asleep, her arms around the dog's neck.


	5. A Gentleman

Early the next morning, there was a knock at the door, and Katniss called sleepily, "Come In!"

"My word!" Effie Trinket said, startled at the sight of the black Saint Bernard sized dog laying on the bed, guarding Katniss. "Who have we here?"

Katniss sat up, and the dog jumped down off the bed, walked over to the closet, picked up a pink bathrobe, with matching slippers, and dropped them into her lap. Then he sat down in front of Effie and offered his right paw, bowing low in a gentleman – like fashion.

" Well, nice to meet you too," Effie said laughing, as she accepted the offered paw. "What a well behaved pet you have Katniss."

"He's not a pet, Effie," Katniss said, as she tied her hair back into a braid. " He's my friend."


	6. A surprise for the Prep Team

At breakfast, the dog sat on the floor beside Katniss's chair. He ate bacon, eggs, French toast and sausage off a plate that Katniss had fixed for him. Even so, Katniss slipped him little bits of fruit as she talked to Haymitch and Gale.

All was quiet until the Prep team walked in. One minute, the dog was quietly eating under the table, and the next, the prep team was on the ground being greeted by a large black dog with green eyes.

"What on earth!" Yelled a very startled Octavia. The dog was running in circles, barking and howling for pure joy, as if greeting long lost friends.

"Katniss! Get this dog off me! This instant!" Venia yelled, furiously. No sooner had she said that than the dog jumped up and began helping clean up the mess of papers that Flavius had dropped. He then took Octavia's sleeve in his teeth and pulled her up, being careful not to tear the glittery fabric.

"Uh, Thanks?" She said, looking at Katniss with raised eyebrows.

The dog walked over and picked up Venia's purple, neon purse and handed it to her. She accepted it gracefully, although she gave him a very strange look.

As if nothing had happened , the dog walked with quiet dignity back to lay at Katniss's feet.


	7. Effie's Big, Big , Big, News

Later that day, as Katniss was in the training center shooting arrows at targets, with the dog watching from the safety of the bleachers (though Katniss would NEVER have shot him, he knew that.) , Effie Trinket ran in, obviously out of breath. This caught Katniss's attention right away, because Effie NEVER ran. Katniss put down her bow and walked toward the woman running in high heels.

"Katniss!" She panted. "The rescue party just got back. They found Peeta, but guess who was with him?"

"Who?" Katniss asked looking at Effie curiously.

Effie smile, "Come and see."


	8. Long time, No See

As Effie, Katniss, and the dog walked into the hospital wing, they saw a pale, thin woman in her 20's lying on a white cot, staring up at the ceiling with a vacant, far off look in her eyes. Katniss recognized her right away.

"Portia?" The woman turned her head slightly towards Katniss and extended a hand.

"Katniss? My stars! I haven't seen you since, since, well, since"

"Since the Quell. Yes , I know. We have so much to tell you, so much has happened since then. " She sat down in the chair next to the cot and took a deep breath . " first and foremost." Before she could continue, there was a low whine from the dog.

" Oh! Who's this ?" Portia said in surprise, as the dog began walking towards her. The dog laid his head on her hand, and gave a low whine. She laughed, and ran her hand over his soft head. Suddenly, without warning, the dog jumped up on the bed in one flying leap and started licking her face. Then he leapt down and started running in circles around the bed while giving loud, joyous barks, causing stares from other people in the room. He ran from Katniss to Portia, then back again, barking and jumping, and chasing his tale, all of his earlier quiet dignity gone. While Effie looked on in absolute horror, Katniss and Portia laughed.

" He's very happy, it's like he knows me, like a long lost friend." Portia smiled.

" I'm sorry. He did this same thing with my Prep team this morning. He jumped on them and barked. He's totally lost his normal quiet dignity. Sorry if he scared you. "

" No, don't worry about it, He's just a Rebellious Spark."

"So, that's what we'll name him. Spark. "


	9. I'm Here , Girl on Fire,I'm Here

Spark stood outside the door of the hospital room. He listened, as Peeta screamed at Katniss.

"You're a Mutt!" He shouted, "One of THEM! You tried to kill me!"

He heard Katniss's voice, muffled by tears, give reply, "No, Peeta, No, they've taken your memories, twisted them, made them into what they were not. Peeta, Please!" She begged. There was a loud noise, and Katniss gave a strangled cry.

Spark lunged forward, his teeth bared. He ran at the closed door, and slammed into it, using his full strength, his powerful paws knocking it off its hinges. He fell into the room, and leapt at Katniss, knocking her out of the death grip Peeta had on her throat.

Unconscious, she held onto him, her arms wrapped tightly around the strong dog.

"_I'm here, Girl on Fire, I'm here. You are safe now. I'm here. I will never leave again." _


	10. The Devotion Of Portia

Meanwhile, down the hall, Portia heard the commotion. She wondered briefly, what was going on. From her bed, she could just barely see the powerful black dog; throw himself into the steel door of the room. She was surprised. This was not normal dog behavior. A normal dog would have just barked, or growled, maybe even pawed at the door.

To her, what Spark had done seemed almost, human. Now, and before. Before, when their eyes had met, she had remembered another set of green eyes, with the same, wise, laughing, nobility to them. The eyes that belonged to her hero. She remembered those eyes, she remembered the man that they belonged to. No, she corrected herself, who they** belong **to. He is NOT dead. She told herself fiercely. If she allowed herself to waver, even for an instant, in that belief, than it would become untrue. He had promised her, that night after he had turned Katniss's wedding gown into a Mockingjay costume that he would come home to her. No matter what. He had held her in his arms up on the rooftop under the stars, and told her that he loved her. That he would find a way back.

She loved him. She missed him. He was her lifeline while she'd sat in that dark, dank, small, cramped, cell, in the Capitol prison. He was by her side, always , though he was not really there.

Her eye-lids were growing heavy and they hurt from crying. She was so tired.

As she closed her eyes, they became a movie screen. The scene that played was one that would haunt her forever.


	11. The Memory

**Words in Italics are not from Portia's point of view. oh, you know what I mean! **

She was in a dimly lit cell; she had not eaten for three days. Her head ached and her vision was blurry. She was pretty sure that she had a concussion. She was not surprised. After all, she had been beaten repeatedly, in the head, many times.

The whole point of this torture, if there really was one, was to get her to tell them what the Rebellion's plans were. However, it was pointless. She did not know much, but what she did know, there was nothing in this world that could force her to reveal it.

There were times when the torture got really terrible, so terrible that she was tempted to tell what little she did know just to alleviate the pain for just a small moment. " The wedding dress designs are a coded message."

During these times, she conjured up a memory, a memory that was so powerful it could get her through anything. It was the memory of the night before the quell. The night that He told her about the code, showed her what it meant. Told her he loved her.

He had taken her aside, made sure that they were alone, and then taken out the gold sketchpad. It had seemed like every other planning meeting until he had said, his voice, hard, serious, and, for the first time since she had known him, afraid.

"Portia, pay attention. We don't have much time." He showed her the designs, walked her through the code in each one, and told her what the message meant, until she could repeat them to him.

The clock struck ten. As she turned to leave, he called out to her. "Wait Sweetheart." She turned around and began walking back toward him, and tripped over a bolt of bright orange fabric lying on the ground. She fell into his arms.

She remembered how it had felt then, in his arms. The warmth, the strength. The feel of his lips on hers.

When the kiss ended, she asked him, " Cinna , are you going to go away?" They both knew the meaning behind those words, the fear in them .

" I'm not planning on it Darling. Although I am in great danger. I love you . A lot!" He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders.

" Will you go to 13?"

_The door was ajar, and a passing Peacekeeper caught these fatal words. He stood by the door, listening. _

" Not until we can get Katniss and Peeta out of the arena, again safely , and spark the rebellion. You're my partner Portia, and I'm in need of your help, Love." He kissed her again, and she smiled.

" Yes Dear. I will help you. I love you. And our Kids!"

"Our TRIBUTES!" Cinna corrected her with a laugh. "Someday Sweetie, when all this is over, we'll marry. But not now, it is far too dangerous. Not now My Dear. Be patient." He kissed her again. She still got butterflies at the very thought of it.

" I can't wait!"

" Neither can I , I've always loved you , you know. Ever since Design school."

" Cinna," Portia broke in. She looked at him with sadness in her eyes and turned her face away.

"What's wrong Porsche? " He pulled her close to him, and she buried her face in his chest. She was crying. " It's alright Portia. Tell me."

" Cinna, do you, can you, truly love me?" Portia asked, her voice muffled by tears.

" Of course I do Darling. Why in the world would you need to ask?"

" Cinna, without all this make-up, I'm-"

" Truly, absolutely 100% perfect." Cinna broke in. " Portia, have you forgotten, I fell in love with YOU not the makeup. You are mine. My Portia. I love you. and I always will. Nothing can change that. "

" Not even death?"

" No, Portia. Not even death."

"I love you Cinna. I will love you forever."

" Always."

_Smiling , the Peace Keeper marched away in the darkness toward his office. Pity, he thought. Pity he would have to break their hearts. He hated to see true love broken. But order must be kept, and rebellion stamped out! It was his duty. _


	12. As a Father, As a Friend

He stayed with her, lying guard at the foot of the hospital bed, keeping watch. He knew nothing would happen. Snow was far away , and Peeta had been transferred to the mental ward. He was mainly there to offer some small means of comfort.

The doctors had found him guarding Katniss, and had tried to kick him out, saying that "Dogs had no business in hospitals, they carry diseases". But he was allowed to stay, at Prim's insistence. Tiny, naïve, innocent, child-like, little Prim had stared them down and said " He's a comfort to Katniss, like Buttercup is to me, Let him stay." When that didn't work, she made the ultimate threat, " if you don't , I'll get my mother, and let her deal with it!" That had the desired effect. He was allowed, although grudgingly, to stay.  
Katniss lay asleep, unchanged, after four hours, except for the neck brace, and the many machines that buzzed, beeped, and whirred. He could hear the drip, drip, drip, of the morphling being pumped into her bloodstream. The heart monitors made an obnoxious sound, almost like sewing machine that is malfunctioning. He sighed. There was a fly on the wall. He watched it. It was walking. And walking. And buzzing. He was bored.

A man in a white coat came in and took out a pen, checked the machines, and wrote something down on a clip board. "Good boy". The man said. "I wish I'd had a dog like you when I was her age. " He pulled a chicken leg out of his pocket, " don't tell anyone boy, or I'll get fired. Just thought you could use a treat, seeing as you missed lunch and all." Spark took it from him and whined, putting a large paw on the man's arm, as if to thank him. "You're welcome boy, Thanks for taking care of the Mockingjay." He scratched Spark's ears. " I've got to go now boy. See ya around." The man left, shutting the door behind him.

Spark ate his chicken, then got up and walked over to the garbage can, deposited the bones, and then walked to the water fountain, and got a drink. With a sigh, he lay back down at the foot of the bed and closed his eyes.

Katniss's moan of pain jerked him awake. He lay down beside her, his head on her shoulder.

" Spark" She croaked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Spark!" He put a paw over her mouth as if to say_ "shhh, don't talk"_

She obeyed, although , it was pointless. She couldn't really talk anyway. Besides, he always knew what she was thinking, as he had always known. By the way her jaw was clenched, he could tell she was in pain.

It was more than just physical pain. The look in her eyes communicated her worries about Peeta, her fear of Peeta, her fear for Peeta and her confusion about Peeta. His heart went out to her. This strong, brave girl, barely even 17, who was having to deal with things that even a 100 year old shouldn't have to face. She may be strong, but she was still a child. A child he would protect.

She whimpered slightly, and he put a paw on her hand. _"Go to sleep, Girl on Fire."_ She grasped his paw, as she would a human hand. _"Rest , my child, rest."_ She smiled, as she drifted off into unconsciousness. _"Go to sleep, you are safe , nothing can hurt you now. May your dreams be sweet, and tomorrow bring them true, remember all those who love you." _


	13. Katniss Reflecting

She was in pain, her head throbbed, and her throat ached. She felt out of it, groggy. She remembered waking up with Spark beside her, and he was there now, so how long could it have been? She opened her eyes. The light made her head spin, but she stubbornly fought the dizziness, keeping her eyes open, the clock on the wall read 16:30. Therefore, she had not missed supper yet, that was good. She felt the calm, steady dog under her hand and sighed. With Him, she knew she was safe... She wished she could get back to sleep, back to the dream she had had, though it made her very sad. Her father had been there, and Rue, and Cinna. She missed them horribly. She missed her Father's laughter and the way his gentle Tenor made the Mockingjays fall into respectful silence.

She missed those two days in the arena, as crazy as it sounded, when she and Rue had been an alliance. She missed those cold nights, as Rue lay beside her, because they reminded her so much of Home, and Prim. .

She missed the times before her first Games, when she had been afraid, and through Cinna's steady voice and quiet strength, she had found bravery. She missed the times before the victory tour, when he was just a phone call away. She remembered the time she woke up with arena nightmares about seeing everyone she loved killed in the Games. She could not call Peeta, not after what she had told him, she did not want to worry Prim, and she did not want to wake her Mom. Her mind remembered words of promise. "If you ever need anything Katniss, just call"

And so she did.

For two long hours, she wept into the phone finally soothed by Cinna's gentle, calming voice. She did not hang up. He had said to her "Put the phone down, on your bedside table, and go to sleep. I'll stay on the line. I won't leave it. If you have another nightmare, or feel afraid, just pick up the phone. I am here, I will not leave." She slept peacefully after that, knowing that he was just a word away.

She remembered how, when her prep team would run out in tears before the Quell and Cinna would come in, and that he was always silent. . She remembered how his laughing green eyes took on a somber quality, how instead of talking, he was silent. How her would stop in the middle of a sentence and blink rapidly, or take a long drink of ice water. She didn't notice then, but now, looking back, his eyes shone in sadness, instead of in pride. She realized, with a shock just how hard it had been for him to keep his promise to her. For, she had seen the change in him, the way his eyes were red when he'd walk into a prep session. When she'd asked him,

"Cinna, what's wrong" He'd said simply, "

Allergies"

She realized now that although he'd kept his promise not to cry in front of her, he'd done a fair amount of crying alone. She wished now that she'd cried with him, instead of being selfish, thinking only of her own feelings. . They could have comforted each other.

She remembered his distraction on the day he was killed. She'd attributed his fierce hug and "I'm still betting on you" to the emotions of the da day. She thought about his words, "you can do this Katniss; we're all counting on you "and realized that he didn't mean the Quell, but the Rebellion. He'd known all along that she would be the Mockingjay, that's why he'd made the dress. That's why he'd given his life.

He'd died with honor, never fighting back, never uttering a cry of pain, though shed seen it in his eyes. He'd spared her the pain of hearing him scream though he couldn't spare her the sight of his murder. She was thankful, that although the scene played a starring role in nine out of ten of her nightmares, she didn't have the audio.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a gentle, familiar voice whispered, "How are you Katniss?"

Prim made her way through the room to Katniss, carrying a tray of hot soup. She set the tray down on a table, sat down beside Katniss, and began feeding her with a spoon. After dinner, a man in a white lab coat injected a needle into her arm, and she plunged into total, sweet darkness.


	14. Just Spark

Spark padded down the hall, toward the room He Katniss and Effie had visited the previous day. He walked silently into the room, where Portia lay , asleep. He walked closer, stood beside the bed. She was smiling, her eyelids fluttering in some kind of happy dream . He whimpered, and gave a sigh. She was safe . That's all he really cared about. The two people he loved most, Portia and Katniss, were safe.

" Cinna" Portia said sleepily, "I love you"

Spark smiled and sat at the foot of the bed, being careful not to step onto her injured leg. He lay as he'd done earlier, guarding Portia this time. He listened to her peaceful breathing, her occasional work. her hand found his head, and she began stroking it.

He rested his head on her chest, and the gentle thumping of her heart made him content.

It could never be the same, as it had been. He would have to tell them somehow. Show Portia and Katniss his true identity. Someday, somehow, but not now. Now he would just be Spark, the loyal friend, the proud dog to lick away their tears and growl away the nightmares. Just Spark, for now. Just Spark.


End file.
